Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch ‘Feels Healthy, Strong’

Beastie BoyAdam Yauch, aka MCA, posted a message to fans to say that he's recovering well from recent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his salivary gland.

Yauch revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer three months ago, forcing the Beasties to cancel their upcoming performances as well as pushing back the release of their new album, 'Hot Sauce Committee, Part One.'

In his message, Yauch said he was in good spirits, having just returned from India, where he visited Tibetan doctors and attended a three-day course with the Dalai Lama,

"I'm feeling healthy, strong and hopeful that I've beaten this thing, but of course time will tell," wrote the 45-year-old veteran rapper. "I'm taking Tibetan medicine and at the recommendation of the Tibetan doctors I've been eating a vegan/organic diet, which surprisingly enough was harder to do in India than it is now that I'm back home. Here I can just shop for the right food and cook ... a lot easier than depending on restaurants."

While in India, Yauch also visited a nunnery, where the nuns prayed for his recovery. "They did a Puja (religious ceremony) for me to help me get well," he wrote. "One nun said to me, 'We do prayers and then you are better.' So I've got that going for me, which is nice."

A spokesperson for the group said that the surgery to remove the tumor was successful, and will likely not affect Yauch's already-strained vocal chords, as it was caught early.